Military exercises and build-up continues amid fears North Korea about to test a nuclear device

By Patrick Knox

25th April 2017, 12:13 pm

Updated: 25th April 2017, 4:48 pm

A POWERFUL US sub has arrived in South Korea amid worries of another North Korean missile or nuclear test as Kim Jong-un carries out huge war games.

The USS Michigan - capable of firing off salvos of Tomahawk cruise missiles - is to join the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in drills near the Korean Peninsula.

Reuters

Nuclear-powered submarine USS Michigan arrives at the southeastern port city of Busan

AP:Associated Press

Tugs help push the USS Michigan along a quayside at Busan port as part of Washington's build up of forces ahead of a possible conflict

Getty Images

The USS Michigan is dedicated to firing cruise missiles and could be used to strike at North Korean test facilities or other high value targets

Reuters

The exact length of the deployment to the region is unknown but the sub allows the US to target Kim Jong-un in much the same way as the recent attack on a Syrian airbase following allegations of a chemical attack

The sub belongs to the Ohio class of boats which are the biggest of their kind ever to be built for the US Navy.

North Korea celebrates its army's 85th founding anniversary today and reports suggest it has marked the event with its "largest ever firing drill".

It is feared the anniversary will be marked with the testing of a nuclear device or a ballistic missile.

But instead North Korea deployed a large number of long-range artillery units in the region of Wonsan on its east coast for a live-fire drill, South Korea's military said.

North Korea has an air base here and missiles have also been tested there.

What kind of submarine is the USS Michigan?

The 560-foot-long, 18,000-ton Michigan is the biggest class of submarine in the US Navy and belongs to the Ohion class.

It began service as a ballistic missile submarine and loaded with nuclear missiles.

But during the 2000s it was converted to platform for conventional weapons and it’s firepower is awesome.

It can carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles at any one time.

Superior communications capabilities mean it can accurately hit its targets within minutes of being ordered to strike.

Sisters subs include USS Ohio, USS Florida and USS Georgia.

The boat will join the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group in the Sea of Japan amid fears war will break out between North and South Korea.

EPA

An AWACS air surveillance plane lifts off from a runway in the southeastern port of Busan, South Korea, this morning on a mission

AP:Associated Press

US Air Force's A-10 attack warplanes prepare to take off at Osan Air Base as war clouds gather